After tasting playoffs, Elon hungers for more

Adam Smith Times-News @adam_smithTN

Saturday

Nov 24, 2018 at 12:03 AM

Phoenix faces Wofford in first-round game

The experience of last year’s appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, practicing during the week of Thanksgiving and tasting the atmosphere of the national championship pursuit, has helped Elon’s mode of preparation this time around.

So, too, has the benefit of hindsight.

Perhaps, coach Curt Cignetti and some of the team’s veteran players have suggested, the Phoenix treated reaching the playoffs as an end-goal type of achievement and topper for last season’s remarkable turnaround campaign, rather than an avenue toward accomplishing even more.

“I didn’t really notice it until after the fact, but I think maybe last year there was satisfaction with making the playoffs,” Cignetti said. “But I think this year everybody is resolved to go be successful. I think we can make a run. I think the kids believe that, too.”

Elon (6-4) meets Wofford (8-3) on Saturday in Spartanburg, S.C., in a first-round matchup that marks a new piece of school history, while offering the opportunity to author another significant chapter.

It’s the first time across Elon’s 20 years on the NCAA Division I level that the program is competing in the postseason during back-to-back years. The Phoenix, which made one-and-done exits in its previous trips (2009 and 2017), remains in search of its first FCS playoff victory.

“I’ve never wanted anything more than to get into these playoffs and win a game, to make more history,” Elon offensive lineman Alex Higgins said. “Last year it was, ‘Let’s get to the playoffs.’ Now this year, it’s, ‘Let’s see how far we can take this.’

“Guys are excited. There’s a hunger about us, a hunger that drives us. It’s not about how we started the season, but more about how we finish this new season we’ve got now. We’re going to push until we can’t push anymore.”

Saturday’s winner advances to face No. 4 national seed Kennesaw State (10-1) in the second round, when the 24-team playoff field will be trimmed to 16.

Elon arrives at Wofford banged up and having turned to Daniel Thompson at quarterback. Six weeks ago, before standout Davis Cheek’s season-ending knee injury, the senior Thompson was Elon’s third-string quarterback. Now, he’s receiving his first starting assignment since November 2016.

Due to injuries, the Phoenix could be without as many as nine players who opened the season in starting roles, though cornerback Daniel Reid-Bennett is expected to return with what should provide a needed boost for a defensive backfield whose depth has become thinner.

The effects of Elon’s injury situation showed up on special teams during last week’s narrow 27-26 loss at Maine, the Colonial Athletic Association champion. Maine’s Earnest Edwards returned kickoffs for touchdowns of 95 and 93 yards, and the Black Bears also blocked an Elon punt to set up a field goal — a feast of 17 points produced by capitalizing on Elon miscues.

By the end of that game, Elon, after using freshmen and younger players on special teams, had shifted certain starters to handle those extra duties.

That increased workload for some and the injuries to others have done nothing to drain the collective energy remaining in Elon’s tank, Cignetti said. He shot out of a reclined position in his office this week when asked if the Phoenix might be running low on gas at this stage, given the circumstances.

“We’re banged up; we have a lot of injuries,” Cignetti said. “We’re playing our third-team quarterback. But we’ve got a lot of capable guys and we’re going to go down (to Wofford) confident.

“Sometimes you’ve got to hit kind of rock bottom before you can bounce back, and I think that kind of happened (two weeks ago) against Towson. Last week was a critical week to bounce back, and I think we did, even though we didn’t get the result. We played with great effort. I think we’re capable of catching some momentum here.”

Elon and Wofford, former league foes from the Phoenix’s 11-year stay in the Southern Conference, share a common opponent in Furman, though that became an outdated comparison across the course of this season.

Elon blasted visiting Furman 45-7 in early September during its home opener, when the Phoenix was all but a fully healthy team, while Wofford lost 34-14 at Furman in mid-October.

Since then, Wofford, fueled by its ground-pounding option offense, closed the regular season by winning four of its final five games to share the Southern Conference title with East Tennessee State and Furman. Wofford then gained the league’s automatic bid to the playoffs by virtue of tiebreakers.

“We have a great chance to do something special,” Elon receiver Cole Taylor said. “Last year, making it to the playoffs was obviously a big feat for us. This year, we’re hungry for a win. We want to win. We want to play more football.”

Extra points: Elon and Wofford met every season from 2003-13, before Elon left the Southern Conference to join the Colonial Athletic Association. … Elon is one of the record six CAA teams in the Football Championship Subdivision field, a number of playoff participants that previously hadn’t been reached by any league. … East Tennessee State is the only other Southern Conference team in the playoffs. … Wofford is in the FCS playoffs for the third straight season and ninth time overall. The Terriers advanced to the quarterfinal round last year before losing to eventual national champion North Dakota State. … Elon’s last postseason football victory came in 1981, when the program competed on the NAIA level. … It’s the fifth playoff appearance for Cignetti as a head coach. His Indiana University of Pennsylvania teams made the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2012, 2015 and 2016. … Wofford’s option offense ranks fifth nationally in rushing with 330.4 yards per game. Andre Stoddard finished second in the Southern Conference with 872 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. … Elon checks in 24th in FCS rushing with 214.4 yards per game. Jaylan Thomas has run for 510 yards during the last four games. … Elon led the CAA and ranked seventh nationally in the FCS in turnover margin at plus-11. … Elon’s Skyler Davis went 4-for-4 on field goals last week. He’s 17-for-22 on the season, including 14-for-15 on attempts inside 40 yards.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.